Argorrek, Terror of the Sea
History Birth of a Monster In a hidden place somewhere on Gielinor at an unknown time in its history, an egg rests on a stone slab table, the coloring of the table a strange green shaded stone. A scaled and clawed hand makes a cut on the palm, and presses it against the egg, laid by a large sea snake. Magic pulses from the hand and forces the blood from the cut into the shell, tainting the egg with its influence. A month or so later; a small snake-like creature hatches out, writhing on the heated stone table from which it was incubated. The owner of the hand returns to investigate the hatchling, and then begins the study. The hatchling grew alarmingly large within a period of a few months, turning from an eggling into a mass of scales and muscle, and new confinements were traded in for the old each time it outgrew them. Within five years it was impossible to hold it on land, and so the monster was chained to the ocean floor with an enchanted metal similar in color to the stone table it had entered the world from. During the time it had grew, its creators had constantly tested it; pushing it to extremes and searching for any potential. The massive size of the creature was a hindering to the requirements it creators wanted it to meet, though it was intelligent and powerful, its mind was too beastial and its size too great. Though it could solve problems and think, it could not function as a civilized being, and no true magical potential graced it. Its creators had hoped for a greater conclusion, but it seemed a repeat of their previous experiments. Though intended for greater things, its potential as a weapon of destruction was unparalleled, and so like his cousin chained beneath Asgarnia, was locked away for use in a later time. In the Depths Placed in the eastern sea and chained to the bottom with relics to keep it asleep, the monster slumbered until one faithful day down in the abyss of water, an ocean ridge cracked and broke the magic stones binding it to sleep. The serpent awoke: If this ever should happen, the chain was given slack so that it could roam a distance from its resting place, but still bound to the sea in which it was imprisoned. Finding for the first time some limited freedom, it began hunting the depths and the waters above, whales and ships fell to its hunger and savagery. To this recent time, it now swims with impunity, terrorising the eastern waters. Should the chain break, no ocean would be safe from this horror of the deep. The Graveyard of Galleons Soon after waking, the leviathan found an excellent ambush point for ships, just off the coast of dragontooth island, in between it and morytania. Trade ships from all places in Gielinor sail near this point, and often meet their demise in these waters. In between the island and the mainland is a collection of rocks that the ship remains wash up on, and it is here the ghosts of dead sailors often infest the foggy spires and tidepools. Not all sailors have passed on in peace, and some remain behind to guard their lost treasures that never reached the final destination. Whilst the serpent is gone, these spectral guardians patrol the fog upon the rocks so as to stop the robbing of their resting places. They are damned to remain here until defeated, where then they can pass on. Survivors will often take the shallow rocks as a fractured walkway back to morytania, where at least they have some hope of returning to their homes, for the serpent cannot get upon the rocks; The jagged boulders and shallow water preventing him from doing so, but it does not prevent him from trying to grab the sailors with his tongue at the thinner crossing points. Strike of the Serpent Slowly, the beast's interest has grown steadily in a construction out in the eastern sea where he is chained: the metal knights base, and is growing bolder in his investigations, the initial lack of knowledge of what the base was keeping him away. But as his knowledge grows of the base and what it is, his urge to destroy it grows as well, as he has found it not to be a normal island but a metal construction full of possible food. He has yet to attack it, but will do so soon. -Rp schedueled to begin eventually- Voyage of the Alliance A few members from an ancient order stood upon the docks of Port Sarim, and they boarded their small experimental galleon, and set sail for the Eastern Lands. Eventually they reached the middle of the sea between Morytania and the East, and there in jutting out from the middle of the water was a giant green-stoned pillar, with glowing dull-green symbols encompassing it. One of the two Icyene on the galleon, leader of the expidition, flew up to the top of the pillar, and noticed a smaller pinnacle in the middle on the smooth top of the main pillar. The smaller pinnacle had an indent on the top of it where somthing seemed to be missing (Will be revealed in Pirate's Peril rp). As he neared the small plinth, it glowed and shot down into the main pillar, then the whole structure rumbled to life. The whole pillar rose on a thick rod from the middle, and the gears that had raised it let loose, the pillar rapidly falling down to its original height. As it hit its original point, a giant boom noise issued from the fall and the magic from the symbols was released; the result was a giant concussion wave rippling across the Eastern sea from the pillar. The serpent heard this and was unable to resist the call. As the leader flew upwards to see if anything might be coming, a large black shape from under the water was closing in with alarming speed to the small expidition boat. The Icyene screamed "sea monster" and suddenly disappeared in a brilliant flash of white. The serpent closed in on the boat, raising its head from the water, but the crew had been given enough forwarning to prepare the cannons in time. They shot at the leviathan's head, forcing it to submerge. Just before they shot, the father of the expidition leader speeded from the west, the Icyene Cysan; leader of the order. The serpent positioned its head underneath the small watercraft and shot upwards, sending the light boat airborn, it amazingly landed without damage as it rocked to maintain stability. The serpent submerged once more and positioned his head under the water next to the boat. The monster's tongue shot forth from the water, spearing sailors by the two forked points and dragging them under within just a few moments, eight sailors perished this way. The female Icyene that remained grabbed a girl who had come with them on the expidition and shot skyward in an attempt to safe-guard her, the serpent shot its head from the water to snap at them, and nearly caught them. As the jaws snapped shut, poison steam sprayed from the mouth just before it closed and the Icyene and the girl plummeted to the deck once more, burned slightly and choking from the gas. The serpent blasted the main body of the ship with one more bout of steam breath as Cysan yelled from the sky for the captain to pull a lever on the deck close to the ship's wheel. The lever was pulled as the experimental jets from the back combusted using fire runes and crushing them to mix with oils. The small boat speeded away from the leviathan as Argorrek looked in confusion, no vessel before having escaped from him. The serpent was about to pursue when Cysan finally took action, not knowing what to do during most of the course of the battle. Cysan channelled all the magic energy he had to bring forth a bolt of lightning to shock the giant snake. The bolt traveled through the leader of the order and seemingly incinerated him, then blasted into the water, electrocuting the monster. Dazed by the massive shock, Argorrek stared after the speeding boat for a moment before finally giving chase. He managed to catch up as the experimental jets died just before the chain of his yanked him back from the small galleon, and he roared in fury as the boat slipped away from his jaws. After thrashing in rage for a while he eventually slid back under the waters, not to be seen by the members of the expidition again. Revenge Michael plans to kill the serpent in retaliation for the death of his father. He met with the headman of the Eastern village, who's people have long had time to learn about the ways of the giant snake. The headman gave Michael two gifts; a blessed ocarina to lull the serpent to sleep, and a map of the radius of the chain. -to be acted out soon- Pirates' Peril Of all the attacks done by the serpent, one of the boats was left very well in tact, it eventually came to float to the northern half of the island of Mos Le'harmless, where a group of the native pirates found the wrecked ship. Knowing of the monster's attacks, the pirates had made many adjustments to their ship routes as to avoid the chain radius, and knew that this wreck was likely caused by the beast. They went aboard and looted the torn vessel, and disovered among what little there was left a giant stone chest. One pirate recognized the color and magic symbols on the locked container as being similar to the ruins close to Brimhaven, and sudgested they go there to look for some way to open the impossible to breach seal on the lid of the chest. They are currently waiting for ship repairs on their new vessel in order to set sail for Brimhaven. Treasure Beneath the Waves and Upon the Rocks Ghosts of sailors have started to appear on the coast and in villages from where they once lived, and if you can speak to them, they may reveal what their fate was and where their ships sank. In the eastern sea, many many ships have been sunk by this behemoth, almost all carrying trade goods and various treasures from the voyages to the east, not all going underwater, a decent amount washing up on rocks near dragontooth island and northern morytania. If you are brave enough and able to travel across the water, riches beyond your imagination may await you, with even greater treasures waiting to be plucked under the water than aboard the wrecked ships. Treasures The trade ships will often hold rare goods from the eastern lands, as well as goods from the mainland that were meant to be carried over, among these goods are various weapons and armor, as well as barrels of gold waiting to be plundered. *Due to the vagueness of the treasures that may be recieved from the wrecked ships, it is possible almost anything can be found in the ruined frames of the trading vessels, and so; much of the treasure choice is left for the player to roleplay what they found, in one case a player found a dragon longsword from the wreckage. The Chain And Pillar Chain A heavy metal collar and chain binds him to the ocean floor somewhere in the middle of the Eastern Sea. Artifacts like that in the Queen Black Dragon's lair kept him asleep, but were broken when an ocean ridge formed, cracking the artifacts beyond repair. There is, however, a failsafe artifact located on a ring in the chain very close to the collar on his body. This temporary failsafe artifact, when touched, will send him back to sleep on the ocean bed for only a day, but this can be life saving on terms of time and in battle, if it can be activated when he is stunned that is. Like his queen cousin, he cannot really be killed, just injured to the point he is forced back into sleep. Pillar A large pillar made of the same stone similar to most Dragonkin ruins juts out from the water in the middle of the Eastern Sea, this is the anchorage spot of the chain, as well as a giant mechanism for calling the beast. A small plinth stands out on the smooth top of the tall main body of the pillar in the middle, it has an indent in it that seems to be missing something, but this purpose has yet to be seen. Without getting close with whatever was meant to fit in the indent, the plinth shoots downward into the pillar after glowing slightly, and the whole column shakes then rises up on a middle support. After the gears that raised it reset after a few moments, they let loose and the pillar falls back downward, crashing against its holdings where it was originally standing and sends out a great booming noise that shakes a concussion wave through the waters of the Eastern sea. While it also crashes down, magic from dull-green glowing rune symbols covering the surface of the pillar is released as it hits the base to amplify the range of the concussion wave while also triggering an irresistible urge to come to the source in the serpent. Characteristics He is filled with an all consuming desire and urge to devour and/or destroy almost anything that can be killed, he is embroiled with this trait so much that he feels little besides these two things. He feels no sympathy or remorse over anything but his own well being, taking enjoyment from the strife and death he wages across the deep waters, filled with anger and hatred. Though intelligent, these traits make it hard if not impossible to communicate with him, he would prefer to swallow anyone before even thinking about conversation. He is much like the ocean itself, a wild and unpredictable thing of nature that is neither merciful nor fair, and is capable of great destruction and fury with little regard as to who it may be that is being sent to their death. He is in essence: the rage of the oceans, the fear we hold of what may be lurking in the deepest dark waters of the world, and the feeling of hopelessness we hold when that hidden terror finally comes for us. Appearance Imagine the head and neck of the Queen black dragon with the rest of the body like that, with no arms or legs, just an incredibly long and large serpentine frame. Where legs would be on a dragon there are hand and foot like appendages that are finned like a fish, and where the wings would be are wing-like fins that aid in swimming. It has crested fins near the head. The coloring of the monster can vary, as it can change it for some unknown reason, perhaps with its moods or to help in gaining warmth from the shallow water sun; most common coloring is red to brown-green, though the slitted eyes remain a constant burning yellow/orange. He has a long forked tongue. The jaws are large enough to bite a ship in half and swallow sailors whole. Abilities Though unable to cast magic on any great scale, its physical strengths are enough to make up for this. The jaws are huge and with teeth meant to pierce and crush. The fins and size allow it to swim at high speeds, and allow it to keep pace with fast water craft. The size of its mass moving around in the water churns the ocean around it like a child sloshing in the tub, making it rough sailing should he thrash about. If he moves correctly, he can form a large wave in his wake, one that can slosh over a ship and wash sailors off. He has second eyelids that will slide down over his eyes when they need covered for protection, the second eyelids are translucent and see-through, though he can see through them his vision is slightly reduced from the covering. Unlike that which he is related to, he is unable to breath fire, but he has one gift from what he came from: a potent poison/venom. The poison is not used in the bite, as the large mouth is enough to kill, but rather is blasted out in a fire like manner by way of a steam vaporous gas, forming a deathly cloud around a ship attack when he starts to breath outward with force (the steam is also hot and causes burns on flesh that are similar to fire). The fins and scales are sharp and can cause cuts in the hull of most vessels. The tongue is long, thick, and forked; it allows him to scent in the water and in the air. The tongue's forks are sharp and has barbs on them for grip, helping the tongue pierce through wooden hulls and grab sailors. He uses a deep basal sonar along with the tongue to help locate, which sounds similar to a whale but is much deeper. It can be found that he has located you by listening to this booming noise if it is quiet enough around you. On days when the water is still, ripples can be seen as the noise travels through the water, giving a visual warning as well as a vocal one. His size often allows him to tip over ships and simply sink them, but if that cannot cut it, if he were to surface and raise half his body from the water, he could fall on a ship and destroy it completely. If he cannot surface to sink the ship by falling on it, he can submerge and swim in a large circle, forming a gigantic whirlpool; this whirlpool can drag under very large ships that cannot move fast enough to get out of the spinning water. The best prevention of the whirlpool is electricity, to shock him underwater and prevent him from swimming effectively to create one. Magical Abilities He has no magic attacks, but can preform two defensive abilites that are similar to his cousin, the Qbd. He gains a magickal shield with a crystalline nature, heavily blocking magic attacks, but weakening him to shots from cannons or other forms of physical attack. His scales can turn harder than they usually are, and block physical attacks, but make him vulnerable to magic. For these defences, it is best to bring a formidable mage as to combat the hardened scale armor, because average magicians are not very effective in their ability to harm him. Surviving An Attack Speed is useful, as it helps to exit from the range of his chain quickly before he can come for you; thus light ships are recommended for evading him, but for a fight are most often doomed to a watery grave. For those who must travel in large ships, be prepared to pack some serious cannons and ammunition (explosive is the best), along with a metal hull so he cannot pierce it, as he does not like to bite into metal. Magic is not a good method, as spells are hardly effective against something so large, but electric based magic attacks are what should be used to deter him if cannonballs are not available, and the spell needs to be strong enough to matter (the bigger the better). If it comes to a fight, keep him away from the sides of the ship by firing whenever he gets close so he cannot tip your boat. The poison is a temporary effect, one can survive if they are not in the vapor clouds for too long, though the steam from it is likely to cause burns. Whatever happens, do not allow him to raise his body from the water, as this will spell doom for your vessel as he comes crashing down to smash it. Preventing an attack is often simple, as soothing music is more than enough to send him back to sleep on the ocean bed, but this must occur before he attacks, as the rush from a fight will prevent sleep. The music must be loud enough for him to hear, very large pipe organs are one of the few things able to be heard by him in the water coming from the inside of a ship. Alternitively, blessed ocarinas from the Eastern coastal villages may be used, which are much more effective but not very easily obtained, someone needing to travel to the Eastern lands in order to aquire one (see information in trivia). *Above all: KEEP YOUR CHARACTERS AWAY FROM THE MOUTH! Common Mistakes Here is a list of some mistakes players make when fighting him *No matter if a sword that is held is a two-handed, using a sword on him is like using a thumbtack to kill a buffalo, the sword is simply just too small to do damage at any rate. The best offense is large amounts of electricity or overly large cannons. *The protective lense covering he has as second eyelids are strong enough to take a blade to and not be cut, but a blunt weapon can bend in the lense and harm his eye, forcing him to shut the actual eyelid. Other Information *Due to the fact that this character is far out in the water, it is not a threat to roleplays, and is rather a more private character for roleplay, as most sea voyages are not largely public. *His poison is corrosive to certain metals and rocks, but will not melt organic material like clothes or skin, the heat from the steaming poison however will burn skin and thus is very harmful to breath for more than a few moments. The poison gas is also ignitable, and if it comes into contact with fire it will turn his breath into flames for a short period of time. *Like his cousin, the chain of his likely inhibits his full capabilities, if the collar were to fall off, then new abilities could show that were not seen previously. *When soothing music is played, he is calmed and sent back to sleep, but he must be able to hear this before he begins to fight so that the adrenaline from battle does not prevent him from naturally falling asleep. Large pipe organs are one of the few things that can be heard underwater by him. If music cannot be used, extremely high amounts of electricity (whether magical or naturally formed) often deter him from attack, as he has a deep seated avoidance of the shocking pain electricity brings him; sometimes it is enough to force him off from attack. *He can speak, roughly knowing the Dragonkin language and very little common tongue, but he rarely does so; the words also being difficult to understand with the overly deep voice and garbled by his throat, which was not meant for speaking. *His stomache acid is so corrosive; that anything swallowed is nearly instantly dissolved in it, making trying to damage him from the inside an impossibility, backed also by the poisonous nature of his insides and that anything that enters the mouth is first crushed beyond any hope of retaining life. Trivia *Many sea monster myths were used to inspire this character, and were given a lore friendly spin as to the creation of this beast. The norse legend of the Midgard Serpent (a.k.a Jormungandr) is the most heavy reference. *He is a cousin of the dragons, sharing the same creators but not the same creatures the dragons were made from. *Easterners call him Fukaikara hora, translated to: Horror from the deep. *The instrument the Easterners use to keep the serpent asleep is known as an ocarina, a special flute-like instrument crafted from shell, ceramic, wood, glass, or bone. **The ocarinas are given a blessing from saradomin off of village altars, the blessing allows the notes of the instrument to be heard underwater, and be louder as well as having a much farther range of hearing than when listened to above the waves. Media sea serpent 3.jpg|With his red coloring, breaching to slam into unsuspecting ships. (this is the best illustration on his looks and size, a very accurate depiction) sea serpent 1.jpg|Something in the waves... sea serpent 4.jpg|A look at his more camouflaged blue coloring, to help him blend in with the water. sea serpent 5.jpg|When he was younger and smaller, attacking his first ship. sea serpent 6.jpg|A look of his slimmer tail end, the side you would rather be on, in the fog. sea serpent 7.jpg sea serpent 8.jpg|A more realistic look, but some of the features are wrong, the tongue should be thicker and there are no spikes like that running down his back. shipwreck 1.jpg|One of the more intact ships that wash up on the rocks, a more rare find. shipwreck 2.jpg|Old wreckage. shipwreck 3.jpg|The result of many ships piling up near a sandbar. shipwreck 4.jpg|More recent wreckage, with a ship coming in to investigate. whirlpool.jpg|Argorrek forming a whirlpool to sink ships by dragging them under. The whirlpool has not reached full size. Category:Evil Category:Chaotic Category:Antagonist Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Animal Category:Mysterious Characters